I am working on reupholstering my '56 super 88 Holiday and am in a quandary over the rubber armrests. The two front rests are seriously deteriorated and I am unable to find suitable replacements. The photos show the rear drivers side and the gooey mess of the front drivers side. I had purchased '56 Chevy rests in hopes they were similar enough to modify. I was quite disappointed to find they were too hard and way too big.
I have been doing a bit of research and I believe I can reproduce accurate replacements. The problem is the expense of making the mold. I was going to scan the original and make a 3d print to use as a positive to make the mold but it seems like way too much work. My second option was to make a pattern by hand based on the original but again it seems very time consuming. I would need two patterns as the rests are right and left mirror images. I figure I would need to mold the original from alginate which is not too expensive and it can be used to make a plaster cast. I can then touchup the plaster cast and make a silicone mold from it. Once the mold is complete it would be easy to cast the flexible foam rests. The real issue is expense. The whole process would be about $200 in materials for each mold and about $15.00 each for to cast the armrest. Obviously I cannot justify $600 for 8 armrests.
My first question is what have others done to solve this problem. I know that SMS sells completed door panels for the Olds but I elected to do my own due to the cost. In retrospect It would have been cheaper to not buy the original upholstery for the door panels and buy two of theirs to save on the armrests (Almost!).


If some one has a better way or possibly a sorce for these armrests please enlighten me. If not, are their others interested in some reproductions. If there is enough interest I would consider making enough of them to cover the cost of materials. I figure I would need to produce at least 16 for them to be of reasonable cost.


Jeff K.

 

"Just Dashes" specializes in the restoration of Armrest. No idea about the cost, but you may want to contact them. Best of luck, Larry

 

Thanks Larry,


I will check it out and report back.


Jeff K.

 

Well a quick call reviled they do hard plastic and vinyl. They will repair the padding behind the plastic but they are mainly rigid restoration. No help there.


Jeff K.

 

Sorry that didn't work out. CTCAutoRanch on the net has a picture of a '56 Holiday parts car that has a picture showing seats in it,might still have door panels stuffed in there somewhere. Worth a try. Larry

 

Not sure if this helps, but I found armrests for my '56 Super 88 on ebay in July and they were excellent. But mine don't look like yours. In any event, here's the link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221927602457.

Hope this helps,
Frank

 

Frank,

I thought those armrests were for base model, post type sedan and coupe only? Maybe its the Holiday that offers the upgrade to interior and the supper is exterior trim and 4 bbl carb? Any way I have the deluxe interior with integrated armrests and leather/cloth seats.
Thanks for the effort,
Jeff K.

 

The ones you are looking for has to be a Holiday 4 Dr. hardtop.I think '55 and '56 are the same. SMS auto fabrics make and sell door panels of this style,it's doubtful that they would price you just the padding that you need, but they might. Larry

 

Larry,

I purchased all my material from SMS and contacted Doug today. He told me they do not have any thing like that. He said they would fabricate them from stock foam. I realize this is an option and that once covered no one would know but I am concerned about future glue failure. I guess I could sculpt them from a single piece of foam but it is really not the type of foam you would want to cut with a hot wire. The inside cuts would be difficult by knife and the proper material is pricey enough that you would not want to waste any practicing!

Jeff K.

 

I've watch a local upholstery man sculpture all kind of shapes with a plain electric kitchen knife(Just like you use on the Thanksgiving turkey), and it carves it effortlessly.Sounds like youv'e sorta run out of options. Go ahead and give it a try,I believe you can do it. Keep us informed on how it comes out. At least you have some fairly good patterns to go by. it was recommended to me to use 3M 38808 Fabric and headliner material glue for attachment to Foam.It's available through Auto Zone. Larry

 

I've got some arm rests from a 1955 4 door. I know the back seat pads are good, I don't remember about the front. If you think they might interchange I can dig them out and get some photos for you.

John

 

John,

That would be great! I have seen pictures of a '55 and they look the same? The front and rear doors on my '56 are the same they are just facing the opposite direction. The drivers front is the same as the passenger rear and vise verse.

Jeff K.

 

Jeff,Classic Industries has urethane arm rest pads listed and pictured online for 1956 Chevrolet ( look the same to me) .Check them out and let me know. Larry

 

Larry,

I mentioned in the first post of this tread, that is exactly what I did. Unfortunately they were quite different and I had to send them back. It ended up costing me $36.00 shipping both ways. The sad part is they did not even match their own advertisement for Chevy. They indicated they were an exact reproduction right down to the black color. They turned out to be white polyurethane that was way too hard. I was hopping they would be close enough to modify but not the case.

I have sculpted seat foam before with an electric knife but the type of foam for the armrest is much different and also includes some intricate cuts not possible with an electric knife. I would need to glue several pieces together to approximate the shape. It can be done but it will be my last option.

Jeff K.

 

I dug mine out and they are the wrong style, they're just like the ones linked on ebay.

John